


The Date

by wanderer765



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 06:26:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6459448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderer765/pseuds/wanderer765
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris goes on her first date post Eddie and it's not with Barry...although it might as well be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Date

She finished the last bit of her make up with a deep red lipstick, which was exactly what her outfit needed to look complete. Her hair was down and pinned to one side, and dark loose curls hung over her left shoulder. She wore a short black dress that flowed and hugged her body in all the right places. The sexy black heeled boots she wore made her legs look eight miles long. She was a vision. She gave herself one more look in the mirror, smoothing her dress and tossing her hair one last time.

She gave herself a faint smile. It was the first time she was going on a date since Eddie had died and it felt strange and exciting all at once. She inhaled a deep breath as she turned to grab her clutch and headed out the door.

 

She stood outside the fancy Italian restaurant feeling more nervous than she had anticipated, as she waited for her date to arrive. She heard someone call her name from behind.

"Iris."

She turned to find Scott making his way towards her. She felt a little odd going out with her boss, but he was really sweet. Barry had told her to not close herself completely off and so she took this as an opportunity. Maybe this was her 'something great'.

"You look wonderful."

Scott offered her a kiss on the cheek and held the door for her as they went inside. She wasn't sure why, but some of her excitement dissipated. She always hated this stage, the awkwardness that came with getting to know someone. She suddenly craved familiarity.

"So do you prefer white or red wine?" Scott asked her as they both looked over their options.

"Red all the way! Merlot is my all time favorite. My best friend's mom would always have a glass with dinner when I'd go over as a kid and I was always so curious as to what it tasted like...so we snuck some one night. I've loved it ever since."

She smiled at the memory and felt a warmth inside her as she thought about Nora. She was as kind and as beautiful as they came.

"So young Iris was an underage drinker, huh?"

She looked up from her menu and laughed.

"If you only knew the trouble we got in to."

They ordered their drinks and learned more about each other while they waited for their waiter to return.

"Was writing something you always aspired to do?"

"I actually wanted to join the police academy when I was younger, follow in my fathers footsteps, but he all but forbade me to go. It was actually my best friend who suggested I take a journalism class and I kind of fell in love with it from there."

"Your best friend. You talk about her a lot, does she still live around here?"

"Oh! He...my best friend is actually a he. Umm his name is Barry. Sorry...I didn't realize I was talking about him that much."

Scott looked a little deflated and she felt bad. She went over the last ten minutes in her head and realized she had talked about Barry a lot. She wasn't trying to, but he was such a big part of her life that it was almost impossible to tell someone about herself without including him.

Their waiter returned with their wine and asked if they were ready to order.

"Can we have a few more minutes? I think we're both still trying to decide."

The waiter nodded his head at Scott and left them alone again.

Iris' eyes were on the menu, but she wasn't reading it. Her mind was on Barry.

She felt a little panicked. This moment...being on her first date since Eddie, it felt wrong. It didn't feel wrong because she wasn't ready to move on, it felt wrong because the person sitting across from her wasn't who she wanted it to be. The air felt thick and she suddenly couldn't breathe. She had to get out of there.

Scott looked at her with worry. He could see she was fidgeting and uncomfortable, that her mind was elsewhere.

"Are you ok?"

Iris looked up with glossy eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I can't do this right now. I can't be here. You have to forgive me, but I have to go. Umm..."

She grabbed her clutch and took out a $20 bill from inside.

"The wine is on me."

She stood up and pushed her chair in.

"I know this isn't fair to do and I'll try and explain later. You really are sweet I just...I have to go."

She turned and quickly left the restaurant. She put her hand on her forehead and held her stomach. She found herself pacing the sidewalk for a few minutes as she tried to gather her thoughts. She walked to her car and let herself just be for a moment.

She remembered telling Barry about her date the other day. He seemed genuinely happy for her, he always was and she loved that about him. He didn't try to force anything on her or push this idea of their destiny. He let her navigate her own feelings and he would sit back and be patient, even if it took her a lifetime to realize that they were meant to be. She was so thankful for him and his constant support, the way that he knew her and loved her. All she wanted was to be near him right now and to feel the comfort that only he could provide.

She remembered him saying in a conversation earlier that day, that he'd be stuck in his lab pretty late, so she turned her car on and headed that way.

 

*****

 

She climbed the stairs to the second floor of the precinct and rounded the corner. She found him standing beside his microscope, head down, focused on whatever he was writing. She stopped for a moment before walking in and stared at him. God did she love him. She mustered up some courage and made her way towards him. He looked up from his work and gave her a sweet and slightly confused smile.

"Iris. You look..."

She felt butterflies in her stomach with the way he said her name and the way that he looked at her. Always so reverent. He swallowed hard before looking down at his watch and then back up at her.

"I thought you had your date tonight at 8...it's barely 9. Are you ok?"

She stood beside him and he turned to face her. They stood there a moment, silent, staring in to each other's eyes. She swore he could probably feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest. Before she could waste another second she stood on her tip toes, grabbed his head to pull it down towards her and pressed her lips to his. She could feel how tense he was at first and how quickly it melted away. She twisted her head and coaxed his mouth open as she teased his lips with her tongue.

She broke the kiss and looked up at him.

"I've never been better."

Barry was thankful for the stool behind him as he could no longer support the weight of his body after what had just happened. He sat back, dumbfounded and ran his hand over the back of his head.

"Iris..."

She played with her hands.

"Barry it felt so wrong sitting there with Scott tonight. I kept talking about you without even realizing it, ya know? I was telling him things about me and you fit so organically into my story. So much of who I am and what I've been through, all the things that I've experienced involve you. It hit me how weird it felt having this stranger sit across from me and I realized I don't want new memories with a new person, I want our memories. I want you."

She inched closer to him, standing in between his legs as he sat, and took his face in her hands.

"I love you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as his arms wrapped around her waist. Being in his arms felt like home, he was the familiarity she was yearning for all evening.

"I love you too," he said in an almost whisper.

He squeezed her tighter.

She relaxed her arms around his neck and pushed herself up so she could see his face.

"So...we just kissed...and it wasn't weird. In fact, it was everything I'd ever hoped it would be."

"Wait. Are you saying you've thought about kissing me before?"

She gave him a light peck.

"It might've crossed my mind once or twice."

She winked at him as her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

She watched him as his eyes studied her face. He was taking in the moment. He wanted to remember the color lipstick she wore, the way her her hair fell in front of her eye a little bit, before she brushed it away. The way her skin glowed and her eyes smiled. The way it felt to hold her like this for the first time. They locked eyes again and this time he moved to kiss her. He was gentle and she could feel every bit of the love he'd been holding in for over fifteen years. Their lips fit perfectly together and they moved as if they'd been doing this for years. It felt comfortable and right.

When they finally broke apart, both a little breathless, they laughed at themselves.

"So, I left before we could even order food and I'm starved. Want to get some take out and take it to say...the Jitter's rooftop?"

His face radiated with happiness.

"That sounds amazing. Let me just finish this one thing quickly and then I'm all yours."

Iris loved the sound of that. _I'm all yours_. In a matter of moments their whole relationship had changed, but at the same time it hadn't. She thought about how this might just be the best decision she'd ever made. Being in love with your best friend...was there anything better then that? There was no awkward getting to know each other phase. There would be some getting used to the change in their physical relationship, but she knew that would come easily and naturally too. It felt as if this was how it was always meant to be.

Making new memories with an old love.

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot wait to see what a romantic relationship between these two looks like. At this point, I think Barry really feels like they'll never be together in that way and I can't wait for him to find out how wrong he is. I'm not sure they'll even show Iris going on a date with Scott, but if she does I hope it plays out a little bit like this...with Barry being the only thing on her mind.


End file.
